Morocco is positioning itself as a regional and global leader in sustainable mining, leveraging its strategic natural resources, particularly phosphates, alongside an ambitious vision. With the global energy transition and increasing demand for critical metals, the Kingdom aspires to become a key player in Africa and beyond. Morocco’s strategic plan, supported by a modern legislative framework, substantial investments, and international partnerships, aims to transform the sector into an economic development driver while promoting sustainability and industrial integration.
Why organize a Mining Congress in Morocco, and what is the strategic scope of the chosen theme for this inaugural edition?
The International Mining Congress in Morocco, under the theme “Morocco, a Hub for a Sustainable Mining Industry Supporting the Energy Transition,” seeks to address the challenges faced by the mining sector in the current context of the energy transition.
Africa, with its mineral reserves representing about 30% of the world’s resources, is poised to become a major player in supplying strategic metals needed to meet the growing demand driven by the shift to sustainable energy sources. This need is intensified by climate change challenges and the necessity to reduce Western countries’ dependence on China, which dominates the market for rare earths and other essential metals.
The congress aims to highlight the African continent’s potential to transform its natural resources into high-value-added derivatives by fostering industrial integration and organizing value chains. This includes developing synergies among African nations to enhance local capacities and secure supply chains for critical metals such as cobalt, manganese, copper, and phosphate.
The International Mining Congress in Morocco provides an ideal platform to position the country as a regional leader in sustainable mining while supporting African ambitions in the global energy transition. It will serve as a platform for networking, discussions, and collaboration among key institutional, private, and non-profit stakeholders from Africa and beyond.
How do you assess the current state of the mining industry in Morocco, and what are its main strengths and challenges?
Mohamed Cherrat: The mining industry in Morocco is undergoing significant transformation and demonstrates remarkable resilience.
Morocco has a long-standing mining tradition. The mining sector is one of the main pillars of the national economy.
It is worth noting that Moroccan mining production is overwhelmingly dominated by phosphates (90%), for which Morocco holds three-quarters of the world’s reserves. As a result, Morocco is a major global player in this sector: it is the third-largest producer and the leading exporter of this mineral. Beyond phosphates, various minerals and ores are also exploited, including lead, zinc, copper, cobalt, silver, gold, manganese, fluorite, barite, and others.
The country boasts a diverse range of mineral resources, from phosphates, which are vital for global agriculture, to precious metals and industrial minerals.
At the institutional level, it is important to note that Morocco’s mining industry is a liberalized and mature sector, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities distributed among the state, private sector, and civil society. The sector’s development has relied for decades on entirely national human resources. Local expertise and technical know-how, both in regulation and operational activities, deserve further consolidation. Significant efforts are needed to prepare and develop skills for future professions.
The Moroccan mining sector stands out for its potential for innovation and sustainability. Efforts to modernize extraction and processing techniques, while incorporating environmentally friendly practices, are at the forefront. There is also growing commitment toward reindustrialization and enhancing local resources to strengthen the country’s autonomy and competitiveness.
Additionally, Morocco is implementing initiatives to encourage investment and attract international partners while supporting local skills development. This not only revitalizes the local economy but also creates sustainable jobs.
In summary, the mining industry in Morocco is growing and transforming, with great potential to contribute to the national economy while addressing contemporary challenges of sustainability and social responsibility.
Is Morocco perceived as an attractive destination for global mining investments?
The attractiveness of a country’s mining sector depends on several factors, including political stability, geological and mineral potential, the legislative and regulatory framework governing mining activities, tax regime, the quality of geological infrastructure, and more.
Morocco, a politically stable country, benefits from a rich and diverse geological context that has enabled mining activities in many regions of the Kingdom. It has relatively developed geological infrastructure.
This mining landscape, combined with recently adopted legislation on mining exploitation, led Canada’s Fraser Institute to rank Morocco as the most attractive destination for mining investments in Africa and the 8th worldwide in a report published in May 2024.
This ranking, which evaluates the investment attractiveness of 86 mining jurisdictions annually, highlights Morocco’s significant potential. The Fraser Institute, renowned for its rigorous and detailed analyses, considers various criteria, including mineral potential and mining policies that facilitate investments.
However, Morocco still faces challenges in further improving its competitiveness, such as:
- Implementing tax incentives tailored to the specific phases of mining exploration and development to stimulate investment.
- Simplifying administrative procedures, particularly for land occupation permits.
- Establishing mechanisms to improve SME and TPE financing in the mining sector.
- Strengthening geological infrastructure to support research and innovation.
- Unlocking frozen mining assets within the CADETAF zone to create new exploitation opportunities.
- Developing skills by training qualified engineers, technicians, and operators to meet the sector’s growing needs.
What are, in your opinion, the main challenges facing the Moroccan mining sector to ensure its growth and sustainability?
It is clear that the Moroccan mining sector, excluding phosphates, has not evolved in recent years as expected. Mining production, excluding phosphates, has remained nearly constant, and export revenues have barely increased over the past several years.
This trend can be attributed to the depletion of reserves in currently operating deposits, the deepening of mining operations, the decline in the grade of exploited deposits, and the lack of new mine openings. Additionally, it reflects low investment in exploration and mining research over the past decades (approximately 400 to 500 million MAD annually), at a time when the global trend is to encourage investment to capitalize on the upward cycle in raw material prices, driven in part by the significant demand for various metals required for the energy transition.
The elimination in 2008, without compensation, of the Provision for the Reconstitution of Mining Deposits—a fiscal measure specific to the extractive industry that benefited the Moroccan mining sector—has greatly contributed to the decline or stagnation of financial efforts by private operators in exploration and mining research.
Without investments in exploration, there will be no discoveries of new resources and reserves, and the future of the non-phosphate mining sector will be jeopardized in the medium term.
Thus, the main challenge facing the Moroccan mining sector today is to sustain the non-phosphate mining industry in the country. Its growth and sustainability necessarily depend on discovering new mining reserves to exploit, whether through replenishing reserves in existing mines or identifying new deposits. This requires significant investments in exploration and mining research. The Morocco Mine Plan aims to multiply investments in exploration and mining research tenfold, reaching nearly 4 billion MAD.
Beyond investing in research and exploration to identify new reserves, the Moroccan mining industry must develop innovative and creative solutions to optimize its research, extraction, and processing methods; better manage the environmental impact of its industrial activities; develop innovative processes to add more value to the raw materials it produces; and accelerate its digital transformation.
To strengthen industrial sovereignty and promote the “Made in Morocco” label, interconnection with other sectors is essential. This can be achieved by highlighting the mining sector’s contributions to local industries, whether existing or emerging. Moreover, establishing partnerships with federations in Sub-Saharan African countries will promote South-South exchanges and knowledge transfer, thereby enhancing the continent’s ability to transform its resources. The goal is to achieve critical mass for certain substances by integrating value chains and fostering industrial integration, meeting the growing demand linked to digital transformation, energy transition, and low-carbon industries, particularly for metals such as cobalt, manganese, copper, and phosphate.
Beyond all these elements, given the specific characteristics and risks associated with the capital-intensive mining industry, the development of this sector necessarily requires:
- Adopting an appropriate and stable legislative and regulatory framework;
- Implementing attractive and incentive-specific taxation favorable to developing transformation industries;
- Ensuring the availability of high-quality geological infrastructure;
- Developing skilled and qualified human resources;
- Increasing focus on environmental requirements, local context, and social acceptability.
How can the new strategic plan dedicated to mining contribute to the development and modernization of the sector in Morocco?
The FDIM fully supports the initiative to develop this plan, which stems from a clear and accurate diagnosis of the concerning state of the non-phosphate mining sector. We align completely with the vision set out in the plan: to establish the mining sector as a model by 2030, driving sustainable, localized, shared, and inclusive growth.
This plan aims to transform the national mining sector into a high-performing and competitive industry capable of acting as a catalyst for responsible and sustainable development at the local, regional, and national levels. Its strategy is built on several structural pillars covering the entire mining value chain: exploration, research, extraction, value addition, and mineral processing.
As part of its implementation, several projects have been launched, including:
- Modernizing legislative and regulatory frameworks;
- Streamlining the management of the national mining portfolio;
- Revitalizing the production of geological mapping and improving access to geo-information;
- Enhancing training opportunities in geology and mining-related professions.
However, as a federation, we believe that two priority areas must be addressed to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of Morocco’s mining sector within the “Plan Maroc Mine”: revising Law 33-13 and reforming mining taxation.
We urge public authorities to delay approving Law 33-13 and establish a mixed technical commission for a thorough review to address the shortcomings of this legislation.
Regarding taxation, it is essential to ensure stability and attractiveness by accommodating the specific needs of the mining sector, as done in other countries. Key industry demands include:
- Restoring the Provision for the Reconstitution of Mining Deposits (PRG) to encourage investments in exploration and extend the lifespan of mines;
- Exempting research activities from VAT to ease operators’ financial burdens;
- Establishing a provision for site rehabilitation to help operators meet environmental requirements, particularly in site restoration.
What role is the mining sector expected to play in Morocco’s new model for industrial and energy development?
Under Morocco’s new industrial acceleration plan, the mining sector occupies a pivotal role, notably through promoting the “Made in Morocco” label and supporting the country’s energy transition. This framework offers significant opportunities for the mining and metals sector, particularly in meeting the growing demand for critical resources.
The energy transition has triggered a surge in demand for metals essential to this shift. For instance, producing a single smartphone requires about 200 kilograms of raw materials, highlighting the critical link between extraction and finished products. Similarly, an electric vehicle requires up to 80 kilograms of copper, compared to just 20 kilograms for a conventional vehicle. Low-carbon technologies underlying the energy transition require an increased supply of metals.
In this context, it is crucial to explore, extract, and process alternative substances that could replace currently imported materials. This would help meet the rising needs of key industries such as automotive, aeronautics, and chemicals while reducing reliance on imports.
By developing value chains around materials essential for the energy transition—such as cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, and rare earths—Morocco can position itself as a major player in the global market. This would not only drive economic growth but also create jobs and stimulate innovation.
Through these efforts, Morocco can enhance its global market position while promoting a sustainable and inclusive development model. This transition is vital for building a robust and resilient economy capable of addressing future challenges.
